Six Minutes Blog: January 14th Wrestling Preview

Central and Agawam represent two of the most successful wrestling programs in Western Massachusetts history, but you can bet that the present will be all that's on the minds of these wrestlers on Wednesday night.

Central is in the midst of an impressive run that has seen four straight sectional titles and the 2006 State Championship go to the Golden Eagles. The Brownies, though over a decade removed from their state glory days, remain a powerhouse on the Western Mass. scene.

These teams have more in common than crowded trophy cases, however. Central and Agawam are two of the three Western Mass. teams that have been listed under the team power rankings section on MassWrestling.com.

But the past week has not been kind to Agawam. The Brownies saw themselves fall out of the rankings as Central catapulted from No. 15 to No. 4 as a result of their upset win over then-No. 2 Framingham at the West Side Duals.

Agawam will enter Wednesday's meet as underdogs, having already taken a beating from West Side in the season's first dual, but as Central knows from their own experience, no one can be taken lightly, especially not a team like Agawam.

Here are my picks as well as some of this week's key matchups:

Longmeadow at Ludlow-

Ludlow lacks the depth they've had in years past, but they fall into the same category with Agawam as one of the teams you can never look past. Longmeadow will be looking for revenge after an extremely close defeat at the hands of the Lions last season. The big matchup to lookout for in this one is Ludlow's Neil Graham vs. Longmeadow's Matt Shapiro at 119 pounds. Graham has beaten Shapiro in the past, but it is the Lancer who's made noise so far this season.

Pick: Longmeadow. The Lancers have been plagued in dual meets by a lack of overall depth within the lineup, but wins from even one or two of their less experienced wrestlers could seal Longmeadow's first dual win.

Central at Agawam-

Key matchup: Although Jake Ferreira bumping up to 125 to face George Wilson would be a crowd-pleaser, it wouldn't seem to make sense strategically for the Brownies, so I'm going with the 215 pound bout between Central's Alex Ocasio vs. Agawam's Joe Blais. Ocasio and Blais are a potential Western Mass. finals pairing at what could be considered the thinnest overall weight in the section. Blais is the returning Western Mass Div. I champion, but Ocasio's stock is on the rise, having won the Longmeadow Early Bird before placing fourth at the Chad Antoch Tournament in Rhode Island.

Pick: Central. An Agawam win would sure shake things up, but Central is looking like the 2007 Patriots in regular-season form; you just can't pick against them.

Minnechaug at Cathedral-

Minnechaug and Cathedral are both teams that have one very big name, a few notable guys and then a relatively unknown rest of the lineup. Cathedral's Doug Vollaro and Minnechaug's Mike Sugermeyer will likely be pinfall winners, if the other team even throws an opponent out there, that is. The key matchup will happen at 112 pounds between Cathedral's Alex Marotte and Chaug's Kevin Sugermeyer. Marotte is one of the region's top 112's, having lost twice by a single point to Central's Robbie Flores, widely considered to be the best at his weight in the Western Mass. Sugermeyer has been making a name for himself as of late, too. At the Early Bird, Marotte pinned Sugermeyer in the first period of their third place bout, but you can bet big brother will help prepare him for the rematch.
Pick: Minnechaug. Historically, Cathedral has had issues succeeding as a dual team. Minnechaug entered this season with fairly low expectations, but Longmeadow can tell you that the critics might have been wrong.